hoe

/hoʊ/

/həʊ/

Other forms: hoeing; hoes; hoed; hoing

A hoe is a gardening tool made up of a long handle with a sharp metal blade at the end, used to stab the ground and loosen it.

Hoe can be a noun or a verb, so you can use your hoe to remove weeds from a lawn, or you can hoe your garden and make it ready to plant. The word shares the same root as hew, which is a verb that means "to strike, chop, or cut." The “oe” seems tricky, but remember that it never changes, and even if you’re hoeing with three hoes in grass you hoed yesterday, the hoe stays the same.

Definitions of hoe

1. noun

   a tool with a flat blade attached at right angles to a long handle
   types:

   Dutch hoe, scuffle, scuffle hoe

   a hoe that is used by pushing rather than pulling

   type of:

   tool

   an implement used in the practice of a vocation
2. verb

   dig with a hoe
   “He is hoeing the flower beds”

   type of:

   till

   work land as by ploughing, harrowing, and manuring, in order to make it ready for cultivation